A few months ago, whilst meandering through some local markets in Germany, I came across a table full of old cameras in various states of disrepair. Being addicted to film cameras in general it caught my attention, and I decided to look through the cameras with great intention, the possibility of a rare find peaking my interest. Unbeknownst to me, the stall owner found the cameras to be an eyesore, and wanted them all gone, which he very quickly made perfectly clear. Being an avid collector of cameras, (my significant other would prefer the term hoarder), I quickly made a deal, and left with 15 cameras. Amongst the array of cameras was everything from a Kodak Pocket Vest Model B, from around 1915, to a Kodamatic, an instant film camera from Kodak from the 1980’s. Right in the middle was a beautiful Voigtländer Vito CLR, with a 50mm F2.8. A wonderful German made camera from the 1960’s.
I had planned a trip to Morocco, finally able to get away again after a very long time of travel bans, and needed a camera to take with me, and wanted something different. With this in mind I grabbed the Voigtländer Vito CLR, and based on the beauty of the camera alone, I snapped it up, threw in some film, and off I was.
The camera was definitely in the best condition of the pack, but naturally was untested. I cleaned it up, went through the usual tests of shutter, aperture, and rangefinder accuracy. Everything seemed to work well, including the light metre, so I went out on a limb, and went all in. I would use the inbuilt light metre, and hope for the best. Not wanting to throw away a nice expensive film I decided to go with Agfa APX 400. Cheap, black and white, easy.
To my surprise and excitement, the photos turned out really well. Morocco is an amazing country, full of amazing culture, and an absolute dream for photography. The rich colours really lend itself to colour film, so I was worried about my decision to go with black and white. However, I’m happy I made the decision to do so. Although I may have missed the deep earthy colours of the country, I feel I managed to capture a more honest feel of the people.
The Voigländer CLR exceeded my expectations for a camera bought in a package deal from a random market stall. Being predominantly a 50mm shooter, this camera felt like an old friend. The rangefinder was difficult to focus with in low light situations, but considering the age of the camera, it was surprisingly easy to use. It will most definitely be accompanying me on future trips, and now I also need to start trying out the other cameras that came in the pack.
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Michael Zwicky-Ross on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Ibraar Hussain on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
I’ve never been there but after yours and the post below with the Bronica, one day !
Really captured the mood and the tones are lovely
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Paul Quellin on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Tom Perry on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Julian Tanase on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Your photographs made me reminisce over Morocco in the early 90s; a place of freedom and sun. I very much like the one with the sunset and the one with the old man, really feeling the vibe of those places, really inspiring!
Thank you!
Bradley Newman on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
blanko on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
However I feel like it's difficult to recommend the CLR as long as the Vitomatic IIa is available for the same or only a slightly higher price.
The Vitomatic feels more ergonomic to me, and having the meter readout mirrored directly into the viewfinder is a huge boon to me, it saves you the time and hassle to take the camera from your eye every time you have found a good composition but want to check your exposure.
That being said, both are good cameras, and have something even Leitz has never managed to do - a great 1:1 viewfinder with combined rangefinder ;)
I'm always impressed by the performance of the Color-Skopar lenses, some say they're the best Tessar variant, and I'm inclined to believe. They always seem to make images that are above other lenses, maybe even the theoretically better-performing double Gauss ones, in terms of sharpness and contrast.
Gary Smith on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 27/02/2024
brad sprinkle on 5 Frames with a Voigtländer Vito CLR
Comment posted: 01/03/2024